Australia: Australia takes the third position in the Legatum Prosperity Index. It ranks 2 out of 169 countries in the UN human development index. In the economy and entrepreneurship & opportunity domain the country ranked 7^th. Australia has strong basis for future improvements in wellbeing. The high standards of living of the Australians mirror the country’s solid macroeconomic position. It is also noted that Australian businesses have a very low start-up cost and the country has good levels of innovation.

 In the governance domain the country is seen ranking 6^th. The country’s democracy is seen having effective governance, high levels of accountability and full political rights. Also, public confidence in the military is high, as is confidence in the judicial system. Australia ranked 1^st in the education domain. The citizens enjoy good access to high quality education and perform significantly better than the global average. 95 percent Australians agree that children in Australia have an opportunity to learn and grow every day.

In the health domain it is noted that Australia’s population is generally healthy, although rates of immunization can improve. Australia has a health-adjusted life expectancy of 74 years. As for the safety and security domain Australians benefit from the country’s stable and low levels of crime. In the personal freedom domain Australians enjoy freedom of choice and live in a tolerant society. Australia ranks fourth on the social capital domain. The country enjoys very high levels of social unity although there is mixed evidence regarding community and family networks.